Hirotsugu Ueshima

Bio: Hirotsugu Ueshima is an academic researcher from Shiga University of Medical Science. The author has contributed to research in topics: Population & Cohort study. The author has an hindex of 78, co-authored 597 publications receiving 26571 citations. Previous affiliations of Hirotsugu Ueshima include University of London & Osaka University.

Genetic variants in novel pathways influence blood pressure and cardiovascular disease risk

Abstract: Blood pressure is a heritable trait(1) influenced by several biological pathways and responsive to environmental stimuli. Over one billion people worldwide have hypertension (>= 140 mm Hg systolic blood pressure or >= 90 mm Hg diastolic blood pressure)(2). Even small increments in blood pressure are associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular events(3). This genome-wide association study of systolic and diastolic blood pressure, which used a multi-stage design in 200,000 individuals of European descent, identified sixteen novel loci: six of these loci contain genes previously known or suspected to regulate blood pressure (GUCY1A3-GUCY1B3, NPR3-C5orf23, ADM, FURIN-FES, GOSR2, GNAS-EDN3); the other ten provide new clues to blood pressure physiology. A genetic risk score based on 29 genome-wide significant variants was associated with hypertension, left ventricular wall thickness, stroke and coronary artery disease, but not kidney disease or kidney function. We also observed associations with blood pressure in East Asian, South Asian and African ancestry individuals. Our findings provide new insights into the genetics and biology of blood pressure, and suggest potential novel therapeutic pathways for cardiovascular disease prevention.

The Japanese Society of Hypertension Guidelines for the Management of Hypertension (JSH 2009)

Abstract: The Japanese Society of Hypertension Guidelines for the Management of Hypertension (JSH 2009)

Cardiovascular disease and risk factors in Asia: a selected review.

Abstract: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) prevention in Asia is an important issue for world health, because half of the world’s population lives in Asia. Asian countries and regions such as Japan, the Republic of Korea, the People’s Republic of China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and the Kingdom of Thailand have greater mortality and morbidity from stroke than from coronary heart disease (CHD), whereas the opposite is true in Western countries.1 The reasons why this specific situation is observed in countries with rapid and early-phase westernization, such as Japan and South Korea, are very interesting. The Seven Countries Study conducted by Keys et al2 in 1957 found that Japanese populations had lower fat intake, lower serum total cholesterol, and lower CHD than populations in the United States and Scandinavia, in spite of higher smoking rates. The serum total cholesterol level in Japan has increased rapidly since World War II in accordance with an increase in dietary fat intake from 10% of total energy intake per capita per day to 25%.1,2 Despite this increase, the specific characteristic of lower CHD incidence and mortality than that in Western countries has persisted.3,4 Whether Japanese people and certain other Asian populations have different risk factors for CHD than Western populations has been a subject of discussion for quite some time. In this article, we discuss the existence of higher stroke rates and lower CHD rates in Asian countries than in Western countries and the respective risk factors for this on the basis of extensive reviews of cohort studies. We also discuss whether these risk factors differ from those of Western countries. Along with this, we examine the relationship between serum total cholesterol and total stroke and its subtypes. We also address the emerging problems and important issues for CVD prevention in Asia. An extensive …

Blood pressure and cardiovascular disease in the Asia Pacific region.

Abstract: Objectives To estimate age-, sex- and region-specific associations of blood pressure with cardiovascular diseases. Design Relative risk estimates and 95% confidence intervals were calculated from Cox models, stratified by sex and cohort, and adjusted for age at risk on individual participant data from 37 cohort studies. Repeat measurements of blood pressure were used to adjust for regression dilution bias. Setting Studies included in the Asia Pacific Cohort Studies Collaboration from Australia, mainland China, Hong Kong, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea, and Taiwan. Participants A total of 425 325 study participants. Main outcomes measures Stroke, ischaemic heart disease, total cardiovascular death. Results During over 3 million person-years of follow-up, 5178 strokes, 3047 ischaemic heart disease events and 6899 cardiovascular deaths were observed. Continuous log-linear associations were seen between systolic blood pressure and the risks of all three endpoints down to at least 115 mmHg. In the age groups or = 70 years, a 10 mmHg lower usual systolic blood pressure was associated with 54% (95% CI 53-56%), 36% (34-38%) and 25% (22-28%) lower stroke risk, and 46% (43-49%), 24% (21-28%) and 16% (13-20%) lower ischaemic heart disease risk, respectively. All associations were similar in men and women. Blood pressure was at least as strongly associated with cardiovascular events in Asian populations compared to Australasian populations. Conclusions About half of the world's cardiovascular burden is predicted to occur in the Asia Pacific region. Blood pressure is an important determinant of this burden, with considerable potential benefit of blood pressure lowering down to levels of at least 115 mmHg systolic blood pressure.

I and i

Abstract: There is, I think, something ethereal about i —the square root of minus one. I remember first hearing about it at school. It seemed an odd beast at that time—an intruder hovering on the edge of reality. Usually familiarity dulls this sense of the bizarre, but in the case of i it was the reverse: over the years the sense of its surreal nature intensified. It seemed that it was impossible to write mathematics that described the real world in …

2013 ESH/ESC Guidelines for the management of arterial hypertension: The Task Force for the management of arterial hypertension of the European Society of Hypertension (ESH) and of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC).

Abstract: ABCD : Appropriate Blood pressure Control in Diabetes ABI : ankle–brachial index ABPM : ambulatory blood pressure monitoring ACCESS : Acute Candesartan Cilexetil Therapy in Stroke Survival ACCOMPLISH : Avoiding Cardiovascular Events in Combination Therapy in Patients Living with Systolic Hypertension ACCORD : Action to Control Cardiovascular Risk in Diabetes ACE : angiotensin-converting enzyme ACTIVE I : Atrial Fibrillation Clopidogrel Trial with Irbesartan for Prevention of Vascular Events ADVANCE : Action in Diabetes and Vascular Disease: Preterax and Diamicron-MR Controlled Evaluation AHEAD : Action for HEAlth in Diabetes ALLHAT : Antihypertensive and Lipid-Lowering Treatment to Prevent Heart ATtack ALTITUDE : ALiskiren Trial In Type 2 Diabetes Using Cardio-renal Endpoints ANTIPAF : ANgioTensin II Antagonist In Paroxysmal Atrial Fibrillation APOLLO : A Randomized Controlled Trial of Aliskiren in the Prevention of Major Cardiovascular Events in Elderly People ARB : angiotensin receptor blocker ARIC : Atherosclerosis Risk In Communities ARR : aldosterone renin ratio ASCOT : Anglo-Scandinavian Cardiac Outcomes Trial ASCOT-LLA : Anglo-Scandinavian Cardiac Outcomes Trial—Lipid Lowering Arm ASTRAL : Angioplasty and STenting for Renal Artery Lesions A-V : atrioventricular BB : beta-blocker BMI : body mass index BP : blood pressure BSA : body surface area CA : calcium antagonist CABG : coronary artery bypass graft CAPPP : CAPtopril Prevention Project CAPRAF : CAndesartan in the Prevention of Relapsing Atrial Fibrillation CHD : coronary heart disease CHHIPS : Controlling Hypertension and Hypertension Immediately Post-Stroke CKD : chronic kidney disease CKD-EPI : Chronic Kidney Disease—EPIdemiology collaboration CONVINCE : Controlled ONset Verapamil INvestigation of CV Endpoints CT : computed tomography CV : cardiovascular CVD : cardiovascular disease D : diuretic DASH : Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension DBP : diastolic blood pressure DCCT : Diabetes Control and Complications Study DIRECT : DIabetic REtinopathy Candesartan Trials DM : diabetes mellitus DPP-4 : dipeptidyl peptidase 4 EAS : European Atherosclerosis Society EASD : European Association for the Study of Diabetes ECG : electrocardiogram EF : ejection fraction eGFR : estimated glomerular filtration rate ELSA : European Lacidipine Study on Atherosclerosis ESC : European Society of Cardiology ESH : European Society of Hypertension ESRD : end-stage renal disease EXPLOR : Amlodipine–Valsartan Combination Decreases Central Systolic Blood Pressure more Effectively than the Amlodipine–Atenolol Combination FDA : U.S. Food and Drug Administration FEVER : Felodipine EVent Reduction study GISSI-AF : Gruppo Italiano per lo Studio della Sopravvivenza nell'Infarto Miocardico-Atrial Fibrillation HbA1c : glycated haemoglobin HBPM : home blood pressure monitoring HOPE : Heart Outcomes Prevention Evaluation HOT : Hypertension Optimal Treatment HRT : hormone replacement therapy HT : hypertension HYVET : HYpertension in the Very Elderly Trial IMT : intima-media thickness I-PRESERVE : Irbesartan in Heart Failure with Preserved Systolic Function INTERHEART : Effect of Potentially Modifiable Risk Factors associated with Myocardial Infarction in 52 Countries INVEST : INternational VErapamil SR/T Trandolapril ISH : Isolated systolic hypertension JNC : Joint National Committee JUPITER : Justification for the Use of Statins in Primary Prevention: an Intervention Trial Evaluating Rosuvastatin LAVi : left atrial volume index LIFE : Losartan Intervention For Endpoint Reduction in Hypertensives LV : left ventricle/left ventricular LVH : left ventricular hypertrophy LVM : left ventricular mass MDRD : Modification of Diet in Renal Disease MRFIT : Multiple Risk Factor Intervention Trial MRI : magnetic resonance imaging NORDIL : The Nordic Diltiazem Intervention study OC : oral contraceptive OD : organ damage ONTARGET : ONgoing Telmisartan Alone and in Combination with Ramipril Global Endpoint Trial PAD : peripheral artery disease PATHS : Prevention And Treatment of Hypertension Study PCI : percutaneous coronary intervention PPAR : peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor PREVEND : Prevention of REnal and Vascular ENdstage Disease PROFESS : Prevention Regimen for Effectively Avoiding Secondary Strokes PROGRESS : Perindopril Protection Against Recurrent Stroke Study PWV : pulse wave velocity QALY : Quality adjusted life years RAA : renin-angiotensin-aldosterone RAS : renin-angiotensin system RCT : randomized controlled trials RF : risk factor ROADMAP : Randomized Olmesartan And Diabetes MicroAlbuminuria Prevention SBP : systolic blood pressure SCAST : Angiotensin-Receptor Blocker Candesartan for Treatment of Acute STroke SCOPE : Study on COgnition and Prognosis in the Elderly SCORE : Systematic COronary Risk Evaluation SHEP : Systolic Hypertension in the Elderly Program STOP : Swedish Trials in Old Patients with Hypertension STOP-2 : The second Swedish Trial in Old Patients with Hypertension SYSTCHINA : SYSTolic Hypertension in the Elderly: Chinese trial SYSTEUR : SYSTolic Hypertension in Europe TIA : transient ischaemic attack TOHP : Trials Of Hypertension Prevention TRANSCEND : Telmisartan Randomised AssessmeNt Study in ACE iNtolerant subjects with cardiovascular Disease UKPDS : United Kingdom Prospective Diabetes Study VADT : Veterans' Affairs Diabetes Trial VALUE : Valsartan Antihypertensive Long-term Use Evaluation WHO : World Health Organization ### 1.1 Principles The 2013 guidelines on hypertension of the European Society of Hypertension (ESH) and the European Society of Cardiology …

2007 Guidelines for the Management of Arterial Hypertension : The Task Force for the Management of Arterial Hypertension of the European Society of Hypertension (ESH) and of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC).

Abstract: 2007 Guidelines for the Management of Arterial Hypertension : The Task Force for the Management of Arterial Hypertension of the European Society of Hypertension (ESH) and of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC).